If you had all the money in the world, where would you go?

The answer, at least for Kelcy Warren, is Colorado. In April the pipeline magnate and billionaire bought the BootJack Ranch in the San Juan Mountains, shelling out $46.5 million for 3,500 acres of lake-speckled property nestled in a valley near Pagosa Springs. With gorgeous views, fly fishing, a 1,500-bottle wine cellar and an annual music festival, it might be hard to choose the best part of the new digs.

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"My favorite feature of the ranch is the one God created--the pristine beauty of the valley, the river and the surrounding mountains," says Warren, who once spent summers working on his father's pipeline before cofounding natural gas pipeline
Energy Transfer Partners
( ETP
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people ). "I look forward to watching my 7-year-old son enjoy the natural beauty and the wildlife of this area that I never had the opportunity to enjoy as a child."

After cutting back on getaways in the recession, it seems the purpose of vacations has changed for some of the wealthiest travelers says Troy Haas, CEO of luxury travel advisors Brownell Travel. He says that the market for affluent travel is strong again, but clients are planning trips that focus family, culture and philanthropy. "It's not bling. It's not status and consciousness," says Haas. "It's anti-status. It doesn't look good to be conspicuously consuming."

A prime example: famed director Steven Spielberg, who ditched Hollywood to explore the culture of rural Ireland. Last summer Spielberg and his wife journeyed through the Irish Burren region on a group tour led by poet David Whyte. Irish storytellers and philosophers visited the party in the small quaint town of Ballyvaughan, which local hotel-owner George Quinn calls an "unspoiled village."

Microsoft
( MSFT
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news
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people ) founder Bill Gates stayed with his family in Skradin, a small coastal Croatian town of 3,800. A representative for the town's travel board said Gates enjoyed walking through the streets, visiting local restaurants and seeing Krka National Park, home to the beautiful Stradinski Buk waterfall.

One destination to have escaped last year's travel pull back was Africa, according to an ITB World Travel Trends report that showed a 4% increase in tourist arrivals for the region during the first eight months of 2009. Haisley Smith, director of marketing for Brownell Travel, says luxury safaris in Africa continue to attract affluent travelers seeking wildlife adventure and the comfort of a lavish resort.

"These are not your back yard boy scouts camps," Smith says of the five-star, chandelier-adorned African resorts for ultra-wealthy vacationers.

Technology billionaire Tom Siebel ventured to the Serengeti for a safari last year. In a frightening turn of events, though, an elephant attacked Siebel and his guide.

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